Trios

Rob Wasserman

Initial release : February 1994

MCA / GRP 4021

This album of trio recordings includes two tracks with Jerry Garcia, one track with Bob Weir and one with Bruce Hornsby. A version of the Dead song Easy Answers is included performed by Weir, Wasserman and Neil Young.

White-Wheeled Limousine, Country (Bass Trilogy Part 1), (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Bass Trilogy Part 2), Home Is Where You Get Across and Spike's Bulls (Bass Trilogy Part 3);

Recorded at Club Front, San Rafael

Zillionaire and American Popsicle;

Assistant Engineer - Chris Wiskes

Recorded at Club Front, San Rafael

Dustin' Of The Bass;

Engineer - Al Johnson

Recorded at Score One Recording, North Hollywood

Easy Answers; ;

Recorded at Redwood Digital Studios

Assistant engineer - John Nowland, John Hausmann

Guitar tech. - Larry Craig

Gypsy One and Gypsy Two;

Assistant engineer - Kevin Scott

Recorded at The Site, Marin County

3 Guys Named Schmo;

Engineer - John Cutler

Assistant engineer - Ross Yeo

Recorded at Hyde Street Studios, SF

Notes

The CD is dedicated to Willie Dixon.

Wasserman has included brief notes for each track. Those for the tracks that include contributions from members of the Dead are as follows.

Zillionaire;

This was the first trio I recorded and I feel it set the tone for the entire record. I first met Edie when I picked her up at the San Francisco airport. My car door wouldn't open, so she proceeded to climb in through the window! - I liked her immediately. Later, when we jammed at Jerry's house, he and I were both astonished by her ability to spontaneously create a song at the very moment she was singing it. Zillionaire was the first song that we came up with that night. Jerry played a grand piano as we were writing the song so he decided to record with it as well - a very rare occurrence. Several hours of music were recorded during that session. In fact, we all agreed that someday, just for fun, we would perform as an all improv band - no set list, no material!

American Popsicle;

This was a totally crazy, improvised jam session where American Popsicle was one improv out of many we recorded that day, but perhaps the song that most represents the 'other side' of Trios - total spontaneity, no boundaries, improvisational musical madness.

White-Wheeled Limousine;

This song is a great, haunting Bruce Hornsby original. It features Bruce, Branford and myself in a jam that includes tons of improvisation and, during the breaks from recording, lots of basketball! To stay true to the trio concept of recording only in 3s I was drafted to play a drum part which I managed by hitting a table with a drum stick. The night we finished recording the song we debuted it live on stage at the Grateful Dead's annual New Year's Eve concert.

Easy Answers;

The night before this session Bob Weir and I were rehearsing a song idea for our trio with Neil Young. As we were wrapping up he asked me if I wanted to hear another new tune he had been working on. The next day Neil, Bobby and I were sitting in Neil's ancient Cadillac listening to both songs, and we decided to record the newer one from the previous evening which, needless to say, became Easy Answers. Bobby recorded his lead vocal around midnight. Neil and I wouldn't let him do it over again as we both felt he had captured the true spirit of a preacher in his late night delivery. I remember thinking that the song must be pretty good when I saw Neil simultaneously washing dinner dishes at the studio sink and dancing non-stop while he listened to the playback. He commented that my vocal part sounded like a disinterested New Yorker on a street corner using a pay phone while singing the words 'easy answers'!

At least one other piece, Improv from Mars, was recorded by Edie Brickell, Jerry Garcia and Rob Wasserman. This was not included on the CD but was subsequently broadcast on the Dead To The World radio show.